The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19049, if he will ensure that there will be no gaps in capability between the decommissioning of HMS Ocean and its role being taken over by other ships.
Mr Philip Dunne
We will ensure that other ships are available to provide support to amphibious operations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a security assessment has been made of the potential use of non-HM Passport Office (HMPO) sites for interviews when HMPO plans to replace face-to-face interviews with video-link interviews.
James Brokenshire
When commissioning new video interview sites, a security risk assessment is undertaken and the service has to be suitably accredited. Video interviewing, using this approach, has been used successfully for customers in other locations since 2007.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the effect of the fluctuation in the market price of crude oil on the continued operation of waste oil collection services.
Rory Stewart
The changes referred to do not amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The changes made are to the ‘Environmental Guidance On Waste Incineration’, which now clarifies that small waste oil burners used to burn waste oil must meet the requirements of Chapter IV of the Industrial Emissions Directive or switch to non-waste fuels. This guidance can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-permitting-guidance-the-waste-incineration-directive/environmental-permitting-guidance-waste-incineration.
A consultation on the changes to the guidance was undertaken between 14 September and 26 October last year. A summary of responses can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487892/waste-incineration-consult-sum-resp.pdf.
The impact assessment for the changes to this guidance considered some sensitivities on the price of crude oil with regard to collection fees only. The impact assessment can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487895/waste-incineration-consult-ep-ia.pdf.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the capital and revenue costs of free schools in London that (a) have been provided to date, (b) are to be provided in 2016-17 and (c) are projected to be provided between 2017 and 2020.
Edward Timpson
The Department for Education’s accounts show that the total capital spend on free schools up to the end of 2013-14 was £1.029bn; the accounts for following years will be published in due course. The capital costs of individual projects are published once contracts are finalised and are no longer commercially sensitive. They are published, along with the costs of sixteen projects in London and one project in Kirklees, on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools
The total pre- and post-opening revenue expenditure for free school projects that opened in 2011 to 2013 is also published on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-expenditure-for-free-schools
We plan to publish updated revenue expenditure for free schools that were opened in 2014 and 2015 within the next few weeks. This data will be updated annually each Autumn.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on reducing medical indemnity costs for GPs.
Alistair Burt
The Department is having ongoing discussions with NHS England to review the way in which indemnity costs in primary care are funded and will bring forward proposals for discussion in July 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he or any of his Ministerial colleagues were consulted by the Competition and Markets Authority on the date upon which it plans to publish its investigation into the energy market.
Nick Boles
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is independent of Government. The timing of CMA publications is a matter for the CMA, taking into account its statutory deadlines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the result of the EU referendum on the timetable for a decision on Heathrow expansion.
Mr John Hayes
As we move into the new world beyond our membership of the European Union, it is important that we are an outward-facing nation with strong business ties around the world. It is important that we get the decision on runway capacity right. We will take that decision and move ahead with our plans, ensuring that we have the right links for the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited or paid less than the minimum wage.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, due shortly, will strengthen our ability to find and stop exploitative employers. We are currently consulting on proposals to create a new offence of an aggravated breach of labour market legislation and to widen the remit and strengthen the powers of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to enable it to tackle serious exploitation.
Migrant workers who are entitled to other employment rights in UK law are also entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate relevant to their age. Anyone concerned about underpayment of the NMW should call Acas’s confidential helpline on 0300 123 1100 or visit http://www.acas.org.uk/nmw. HMRC will investigate every complaint it receives.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to encourage applications to university technical colleges.
Nick Boles
Like all academies, each university technical college (UTC) is responsible for publicising their school and encouraging applications. Officials from the Department for Education and the Baker Dearing Educational Trust provide UTCs with advice to support pupil recruitment, drawing on the best practice from UTCs and other new schools. Statutory guidance to schools on careers guidance is clear that they should allow UTCs to engage with their pupils on their premises. This guidance can be found at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools. This careers guidance should ensure pupils have information about their full range of education and training options.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of how much fresh water will be used during each exploratory fracking operation.
Andrea Leadsom
The volume of water used will depend on the site, but estimates suggest that the amount needed to operate a fracked well for a decade may be equivalent to the amount needed to water a golf course for a month, or the amount needed to run a 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant for 12 hours.
In order to carry out hydraulic fracturing activities, an operator is required to seek an abstraction permit from the Environment Agency if more than 20 cubic metres per day of water is to be abstracted from surface or groundwater bodies. If water is instead sourced from a mains supply, the water company will need to ensure it can still meet the conditions of the abstraction permit that it will already be operating under. Whichever source an operator chooses to use, a thorough assessment will be made considering the existing water users’ needs and the environmental impact before permission is granted.
The Infrastructure Act 2015 states that the Secretary of State will only be able to issue hydraulic fracturing consent if satisfied that planning authorities have consulted the relevant water company.